It’s More Than Money

Quarter in Charts – Q4 2023

Happy Adjacent I recently learned the term “Happy Adjacent” when I stumbled on a YouTube series from Mythical Kitchen called “Last Meals.” The episodes center on Chef Josh Scherer asking famous people (some more famous than others) what they would eat for their last meal on Earth. Josh then recreates the meal, and they sit

Quarter in Charts – Q3 2023

In this Quarter in Charts, we have several graphs detailing the current interest rate environment, global market events, the bond bear market, and various economic indicators. We use this data to explain what happened (and look ahead to what could happen) in economies, markets, and investment portfolios.  But none of those graphs will be able

Quarter in Charts – Q2 2023

Last month, I got swept up in reading Brian Doyle’s posthumous collection of essays, “One Long River of Song.” I was particularly drawn to his fascination with White Sturgeon. Specifically, an 11-foot-long…

How’s That Third Scoop of Ice Cream?

There’s a fancy economics term for this: “diminishing marginal utility.” Textbooks use far too much paper trying to explain it when really they should just talk about ice cream. The idea is that the first scoop of ice cream tastes great. The second scoop of ice cream tastes a little less great than the first. And the third scoop of ice cream might make your stomach hurt.

Quarter In Charts – Q1 2023

Kids Today Have It Too Easy As a dad of teenagers, it’s my duty to occasionally put on the “grumpy old man” act and talk about how kids today have it too easy. I say things like, “You know when I was a boy…” followed by a misremembered anecdote of my days working at the

Am I Rich?

How we spend our time and how we spend our money should make us feel rich. The hard part is discovering what “rich” really means to each of us.  I learned a lot about being rich in early November when we got the call that my father-in-law had suffered a stroke. After what was both

Giving Back & Lighted Christmas Balls

What started as a homemade Christmas decoration nearly 30 years ago has continued to be something much bigger…and brighter.  As the end of January 2023 quickly approaches, we wanted to report on the annual Sunset Hills neighborhood Lighted Christmas Balls and its “Shine the Light on Hunger” efforts. If you’re unfamiliar, you can read our

Quarter in Charts – Q4 2022

It’s hard to describe how rare and painful 2022 was for investors of all kinds. The phrase “off the charts” is often overused, but in this case, it seems appropriate. And while we’ll look at the causes and details of this year’s returns, we’ll also spend some time exploring how investors should consider viewing the